Each day, Green Mountain Transit Agency volunteer drivers provide hundreds of miles of service to those needing access to medical appointments, shopping, community centers and other essential needs. So many that we serve are without any other source of transportation, living alone and with limited friends and family. Our drivers become more than a reliable connection to their daily needs — they become everyday heroes.

Recently, a longtime GMTA volunteer driver went to pick up a client in a rural town for his dialysis appointment. As the volunteer had done numerous times before, he knocked on the door to let the client know his ride was there. After waiting with no response, he peered in the window and saw that the client was slumped in a chair and unresponsive.

He immediately entered the house, attempted to wake the client with some success, but noticed a slur in speech and inability to answer simple questions. He feared that the client had begun to go into a diabetic coma or worse. He called 911, waited for the ambulance to arrive, and comforted the client while keeping him awake and calm. Because of his actions and, more importantly, because he was there, we were told he most likely saved this man’s life.

What is a hero? A handsome person in a cape with extraordinary strength? A three-point shot to tie the game? Or is it the quiet and humble person who each day volunteers their time to care for those who sometimes have no one else? It wasn’t a Superman who saved a life today, and the papers will not offer a headline in his honor, but to me this man is a hero and someone I am very proud to have as part of the GMTA family.